Please welcome Genesis Motors, which hit the market on Nov. 21st and is set to take on the likes of luxury brand powerhouses Mercedes, Audi and BMW. We caught up with Director of Genesis brand, Michael Ricciuto who gave us insight into the creation of the brand and its new models, the G-80 and G-90. With the goal of revolutionizing the car-buying experience with their Genesis at Home service, Genesis is redefining the way we buy a car in the 21st century. —Alexander Harris
What prompted the creation of Genesis?
Really other than Tesla, no one has really launched a luxury brand since 1991, when Lexus did it. We were able to launch a luxury car brand in the Canadian market place with a blank sheet of paper.
What was Genesis’s approach/goals when developing the brand?
Our approach was to create a car-buying experience that we would like to have ourselves. We asked ourselves, "How are we going to sell this car to the Canadian consumer in a more modern way?"
First thing we said was that we are not going to launch with any dealerships or any physical location. You actually buy your car online. We use a service called Genesis at Home where an agent will bring the car to you and have you test-drive the car wherever you want (your house, your office or a coffee shop). Their role is not to negotiate with you but to sell you on the product. They help you conclude the deal, but the deal is all done online.
We also extend the Genesis at Home to the service side of the car. We pick up your car, give you a courtesy vehicle, bring your car to get repaired and then bring it back to you. Scheduled maintenance and warranty work is actually included in the Genesis service feature.
And for those customers who want to go kick the tires at a dealership we are eventually going to be having showrooms at some boutique locations.
How do these two models differ from your competitors?
The main difference is that our luxury features are included in our base model while our competitors include those features in their mid-higher level trims. While we have similar features to everyone else we have them in a base model at a much better price point.
What are the prices of the G-80 and G-90?
So, it’s all a fixed price, and the fixed price includes everything. Right now, most our competitors have a price and then have you have a whole bunch of other prices on top.
The G-80 is $54,000, all-inclusive pricing. The tech-model is $58,000 and the V8 model is $62,000.
The G-90 starts at $84,000 for the V6 and $87,000 for the V8. The only difference in these two options is the engine, LED headlights and rear seats that tilt.
Each of these have included in the price, five years of no charge maintenance, five years of Sirius XM data and music and five years of map updates for your navigation system.
So that’s it, three versions of the G-80 and two versions on the G-90. But they are very well equipped and the two versions on the G-90 are almost identical. The only difference is one is a 3.3 twin-turbo V6 and the other is 5 litre V8.
Are there any add-on options?
So online you have Genesis finance and insurance products so you can buy and extend a warranty if you want. You can buy appearance car, which is there for if you ding your car and we also have some lease insurance. Those are the only three insurance products we have and the only three that the agent can sell you.
Then on accessories, we have a full line of accessories—winter tires, remote starters, tinted windows and all that. The customer can select those features but we only provide Genesis authorized accessories.
What is unique about these models?
So from a product perspective we took this customer-centric approach as well: what does a luxury customer want?
We know they want all the bells and whistlers, so we have the base model Genesis that you buy—comes with full grain Nappa leather, real open pore woods, panoramic sun roof, navigation system and a full suite of safety options, all standard equipment.
What are the best features, in your opinion?
On the exterior, we have 19-inch turbine alloy wheels; they are actually hollow and are filled with a sound-proofing material, making this car ultra quiet. We have a full head up display on the windshield, no need to look down anymore and blind spot detection.
We also have 22-way power driver seats. A German chiropractic association has actually approved it as good for your back. This was a big point of engineering for the car. I like the blind spot detection. Its active detection will actually help you stay in your own lane to a certain extent and includes emergency and pedestrian braking.
Which model do you prefer?
I’m a G-80 guy. I love the V8 because of the torque.
Is Genesis working on releasing any other cars in future?
Our plan is to release six cars by 2021. Our next model will be a G-70, which will be a smaller vehicle and released in early 2018. From there our plan is to release two SUV’s, a mid-size and a compact as well as a sports car.
Which new release are you most excited for?
Well, in February of next year we will have a G-80 sport model. It’s actually 3.3 twin-turbo V6 that we are putting in the G-80. It will have a different front and rear fascia with a full sport interior with real carbon fibre trim inside, high bolsters. That will be my next company car.
For more information, visit https://www.genesis.com/ca/en/genesis.html.
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